Nanocatalysts promote Streptococcus mutans biofilm matrix degradation and enhance bacterial killing to suppress dental caries in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Dental biofilms (known as plaque) are notoriously difficult to remove or treat because the bacteria can be enmeshed in a protective extracellular matrix. It can also create highly acidic microenvironments that cause acid-dissolution of enamel-apatite on teeth, leading to the onset of dental caries. Current antimicrobial agents are incapable of disrupting the matrix and thereby fail to efficiently kill the microbes within plaque-biofilms. Here, we report a novel strategy to control plaque-biofilms using catalytic nanoparticles (CAT-NP) with peroxidase-like activity that trigger extracellular matrix degradation and cause bacterial death within acidic niches of caries-causing biofilm. CAT-NP containing biocompatible Fe3O4 were developed to catalyze H2O2 to generate free-radicals in situ that

SUBMITTER: Gao L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4949957 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature